Stapling mechanism



AJ=1n A20, 1953 J. CRISTIANO 2,625,632

STAPLINGMECHANISM Filed Jan. 25, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 ATTORNEY Jan-20, 1953 J. cRlsTlANo 2,625,62

' STAPLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 2:5, 195o s sheets-sheet :s

'JOSEPH Cms-ruw@ ATTORNEY Patented `an. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATE-NToFFlcF.'

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to tacking or stapling mechanisms; and,more particularly, to the combination of a staple feeder and a pneumaticdevice for controlling the successive feeding vof staples and fordriving one staple at a time into a work piece, such, for example, as anarticle in the process of being upholstered. y

In the illustrative embodiment of the invention described herein andshown by the accompanying drawing, the novel pneumatic device whichcontrols the feeding and driving of staples is constructed to be ttedconveniently to a known type of staple driver referred to in the art asa tacken It will be understood, however, that the combination of thisinvention, which provides for pneumatic feeding and driving of staples,is shown as including an already obtainable tacker vfor the sake ofconvenience of disclosure. As shown and described herein, the tacking orstapling device of this invention includes a pressure or touch sensitivemeans which serves as a trigger kthereby to provide for the driving of asingle staple without manual effort and with no possibility of anaccidental repeating of the mechanism with the resulting possiblespoilage of the work pieces and jamming of the staple Vfeed. Thepressure or touch sensitive means, preferably, is arranged to contact awork piece at the point where a staple is to be driven. Response of thenovel mechanism included in the present invention to action ofthepressure or touch sensitive means is obtained pneumatically.

The principal aim or object of the present invention is :to provide anovel staple driver or tacker which op-erates pneumatically in resp-onseto pressure mechanically applied'against a trigger means. Thismechanical pressure is preferably applied by contact with a work piece.

Another and closely related object is to provide for only a singleoperation of the driving mechanism in response to pressure applied tothe trigger mechanism. 1

A further object is to provide a novel valve mechanism for controllingthe driving ofstaples into a work piece.

A still further object is to provide' a novel appliance or attachmentfor a staple driverwor tacker for obtaining pneumatic, rather thanmanual, operation of the tacker automatically in response to applicationof the tacker to a work piece.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will, of course,become apparent and immediately suggest themselves to those skilledinthe art to which the inventionis directed from a reading of thefollowing specilication in connection wtih the accompanying drawing 'inwhich: Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view in side elevation of atacking orstapling mechanism embodying the present invention with theparts in the normal or inactivated position, :the section being taken online I-I of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 isa view similarto Fig. 1, but with' the parts shown in anadvanced stage of operation;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tacking'or stapling mechanism of Fig.l; Fig. 4 is a view section on Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken the une A15-Alfl yof online 5--5 of Fig. 1;VandY` Y- Y Fig. 6 is aview in perspective of thes'elfcontained pneumatically operatedappliance or device of the present invention which is shown in Fig. 1 asbeing applied for operation in combination with a previously assembledtacker; Y

Referring to the drawing, the entire stapling mechanism or tacker,"whichis lpneumatically operatable in accordance with the present invention,is seen to comprise a pneumatic attachment lil shown as a separate unitby Fig. 6. Figs. 1 and 2 show the manner in whichthe pneumaticattachment lll is carried by'a, Aprefabricated stapler or tackerdesignated finlits entirety by` reference. character il. Whiletheinvention is described, illustratively,A as being'embodied in anattachment for application` to a l,normally hand operatedltacker orstapler,v it will be understood that the operating principles Aof theinvention to be described hereinaftermay be employed with other types offeeding devices and mechanical drivers. VThe tacker H may, for eX-ample, be a Model 200 lSpeedmatic tacker. "This device ismanufacturedbyj Speed Products,Inc., of Long Island City, New York.Similartackers are shown in U. S. Patents Nos. 2,341,530 and 2,412,620granted to Crosby and Kipp, respectively. This commercially obtainabletacker is modified for use in accordance' with the invention by'fremoval of ,the operating handle or leve r (not shown) and by slightlymodifying the vswingable operating `lever for the' pawl whichcooperateswith the kdriver hammer. In the accompanying drawing thispawl isdesignated I4 and the vswingable operating lever is designated I6.' Forthe sake of completeness o-f disclosure, the parts of the tacker Hv willnowbe described.` `It comprises a frame I8 having an opening I9 whichserves Vas a finger hole so that the part 2l offthe frame canbe graspedas ya handle. The. magazine 23, whichis loaded with staples 26,' ispivoted 3 at 28 to the frame I8. The pivot 28, which is normally presentin the unmodified stapler or tacker Il, is in the form of a pin, bolt,or the like, which provides a connection for the pneumatic attachment Iby being received in the holes 29 and 3| (Fig. 6).

For the purpose of holding the staples 26, the magazine 23 is, or maybe, channel shaped providing a ridge 34 over which the staples 26 areseated. The staples are urged forwardly against a staple driver bar 36by a channel shaped rider 38. A relatively long helical spring 4| isanchored in the frame I8 and passes over a pulley 43. The end of thespring is connected as indicated at 46 to the rider 38. Projections 48in the magazine 23 are notched, as indicated,at 49 to engage a pin Thispin may be the journaling means for the pulley 43 and is carried at theend of a pivoted arm 52.

The frame I8 of the stapler or tacker I has a suitable bore or passage53 which receives a helical compression spring 54. The spring 54 reactsagainst a plunger or hammer 56 to which is at tached the previouslymentioned driver bar 36. The latter slides along the end wall 58 of thetacker II. The cross member or cross bar 59 serves as a stop for theplunger 56, and as shown in Fig. 1, an auxiliary shock absorber plunger62 is slidable in a bore 63 in the plunger 56. The shock absorbingaction is provided by an auxiliary helical spring 66. Movement of theauxiliary plunger is limited by a transverse pin 68 received in anelongated slot 69.

The plunger or hammer 56 is operated by the prexiously mentioned pawl I4which is pivoted to the end of the swingable lever by suitable meanssuch asa pivot 1|. The end of the pawl engages in an elongated recess I2in the plunger 56. A spring 13 engaged against a stop 14 biases the pawlI4 into engagement with the recess 12 in the position of the parts shownin Fig. 1. The pawl I4 is released from engagement with the recess 12when the lever I6 is swung slightly further in a clockwise direction asshown in Fig. 2. The pawl engages the plunger 56 for its release. Thelever I6 is biased in a counter-clockwise direction by a spring 18 whichis engaged in an opening in a tang 19 secured to the frame I8 of thetacker. The remaining end of the spring 18 engages against a pin 63which serves pivotly to connect a rod 86 to the lever I6.

The parts thus far described, with the exception of the rod 86, arecomprised in the stapler or tacker When the stapler or tacker I I isused as a hand operated device, the lever I6 serves as a trigger and itis operated by a handle (not shown) which is pivoted to a pin 88, forexample. This pin 88 may serve to secure the device |0 to the `tacker bycooperation by holes 9| (Fig. 6).

The details of the apparatus I0 will now be described. As seen in Fig.6, it comprises a frame or body member having the bifurcated ends 94 and95 within which the previously mentioned holes 3| and 29 are provided.The body of the attachment I0 has a cylindrical bore 96 which receives atrigger rod 91 which serves as a valve operator in a manner to bedescribed. The rod 91 is provided with the portion of reduced diameter98 within which a set screw |0| or the like is engaged to limit movementof the rod 91. The end of the rod 91 opposite the valve arrangement issecured to a trigger bar |03 Which, in the position of theparts of Fig.l, extends beyond the lower edge of the staple magazine 23. In F1g 2 ofthe drawing, the entire apparatus is indicated as having been pushedagainst a surface |06 which may, for example, be the surface of a workpiece. In bringing the apparatus into engagement with the surface |06 ofthe work piece, it is preferable to have the heel or end of the tacker II adjacent the pin, contact the work piece rst. As soon as the triggerbar |83 is pressed upwardly by engagement with the surface |66 of thework piece the staple driving operation is initiated as will hereinafterappear. The rod 91 is notched, as indicated at |68 so that it will serveas an exhaust valve in combination with an exhaust port |09. The rod 91contacts a second rod III of reduced diameter and which has a stillfurther reduced stem |I4 extending therefrom having a valve member ||8secured at its end. A loading spring I2I urges the rod 91 downwardly asviewed in Fig. l to maintain the valve ||8 closed against its seat andto cause the trigger bar |03 to project slightly. Screw tting |23 and|24 provide connecting means for a hose |26 that supplies a fluid, suchas air, for example, under pressure to the device. The screw fitting |23has a slightly enlarged bore therein which loosely receives the stem II4 to provide for an air passage.

The body of the attachment I6 is provided with a cylindrical bore |28which receives a piston |29. This piston is preferably formed ofyieldable material such as, for example, synthetic rubber. Neoprene hasbeen found suitable for the purpose. Yieldability permits the piston totilt. The piston |29 is received on the end of the rod 86 and issuitably secured thereon as by a screw and washers |33, The end of therod 86 is, or may be, bifurcated to straddle the lever 6 to which it ispivotally connected by the pin 83 as previously described.

The operation of the apparatus set forth will now be described. As theheel of the stapler or tacker I is set against the surface |06 of thework piece and rocked forwardly the trigger bar |03 will be pressedupwardly thereby pressing the rods 91 and upwardly so as to close theexhaust port |09 and lift the valve IIB from its seat. Air underpressure will then flow through a passage |36 against the head of thepiston |29 forcing it downwardly and causing it to rock the swingablelever I6 clockwise. When this is done, plunger or the hammer 56 will beraised and as the lever I6 continues to swing the pawl I4 will moverigidly'with the lever I6 and will be disengaged from the notch 12. Thehammer 56 will move downwardly carrying with it the driver bar 36 todrive the staple into the work piece. Downward movement of the hammer 56will be checked by the auxiliary shock absorbing plunger 62. There is nopossibility of the operation being repeated so long as the apparatus isin engagement with the work piece. When it is raised therefrom, thespring I2I will insure that the rod 91 is urged downwardly to force thevalve IIS against its seat and to open the exhaust port |99 so that thepiston |29 returns to its initial position under the infiuence of thespring 18.

The invention claimed and sought to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus for driving staples, a staple driver, means to urgesaid driver in a staple driving direction, means to feed staples to aposition against said driver whereby each successive staple is in aposition to be driven, means to withdraw said driver against said urgingmeans, said means for withdrawing said driver being releasable from saiddriver upon continued movement thereof,

means coupled to said means for withdrawing said driver to secureoperation thereof, said last named means comprising a piston, valvemeans for admitting uid against said piston, and a trigger projectingfrom said apparatus for operating said valve means upon contact with awork piece.

2. In an apparatus for driving staples, a staple driver, means to urgesaid driver in a staple driving direction, means to withdraw said driveragainst said urging means, said means for withdrawing said driver beingreleasable from said driver upon continued movement thereof,pneumatically controlled and operated means coupled to said means forwithdrawing said driver to secure operation thereof, and a work pieceengaging trigger for initiating operation of said pneumaticallycontrolled and operated means.

3. In an apparatus for driving staples, a staple driver, means to urgesaid driver in a staple driving direction, means to feed staples to aposition against said driver whereby each successive staple is in aposition to be driven, means to withdraw said driver against said urgingmeans, said means for withdrawing said driver being releasable from saiddriver upon continued movement thereof, and pneumatically controlled andoperated means coupled to said means for withdrawing said driver tosecure automatic operation thereof, said pneumatically controlled andoperated means including a member for contacting a Work piece toinitiate operation of said staple driving apparatus.

JOSEPH CRISTIANO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the le of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,014,639 Colwell Jan. 16, 19122,341,530 Crosby Feb. 15, 1944 2,412,620 Kipp Dec. 17, 1946 2,482,993Walker Sept. 27, 1949 2.558.403 Wandel June 26 1951

